A College Lifestyle Blog

September Finance Report

One of the things that I want to do in life is be able to manage my money smartly. I come from a household that didn’t have the money to budget – we lived paycheck to paycheck. So budgeting was not something I grew up doing. When I made my first budget, I thought that it was too easy and that I had done something wrong. It wasn’t that I had done something wrong, it’s just that I need to think about a few more things to add in order to become more financially aware.

Estimated Income

$500.00 – extra money from loans and scholarships that I received that I am using to help pay bills.

$349.80 – this is approximately how much I earn a month working my two on-campus jobs.

Total = $849.00 a month expected income

Estimated Expenses

$358.00 – rent, including utilities.

$90.00 – my phone bill. It is usually a few dollars less than this, but I budget a tiny bit higher just in case.

$25.00 – car insurance. My mom pays most of it (thankfully) but I still contribute to part of it.

Conclusion

We can see right off the bat that I spent way too much money eating out. In my defense, I had to take several people to dinner as thank-you gifts for helping me out when I was car-less. And I spent more than necessary on extras. My extra paycheck this month really saved me, but I’m going to have to be more careful in the coming months. I checked and I won’t get a bonus paycheck until next year.

After all my expenses are paid, I have $415.35 left over from this month. In a few weeks, I am planning on going to Illinois and this will help for travel costs. Part of me knows that I should save the rest, but this is the first chance I’ve had in over a year to make a large purchase that I have been wanting. Whatever is left after that will be going in a savings account, promise!

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Simply Bumbling Along is a blog of college and beyond. Here, you'll find information on college, work on and off campus, advocacy posts on body positivism, feminism, and mental health, and lifestyle posts from Queen Bee Courtney.